The practice of ritual or customary servitude was outlawed in Ghana in 1998, but the practical implementation of the law has fallen largely to NGO's who have facilitated the shrines in ending the practice. Two NGO's, Every Child Ministries Ghana and Fetish Slaves Liberation Movement negotiated with the Aklidokpo shrine owners and educated them as to the issues over a span of over a year, finally winning the approval of the shrine for the liberation of all its trokosi slaves on January 22, 2004. The liberation was a public event in which the shrine freed the slaves and agreed to end the practice of ritual servitude in that place. In this case a 20 year old woman was liberated who had been held within the shrine for 15 years. During that time she was raped and gave birth to the priest's child without medical care or any care for the child. Her story came out in the course of the liberation process. She was one of 94 slaves who were liberated that day.
Location
Ghana · Adidome, Volta Region, Ghana · 2003
(location generalized to protect survivors) Response & intervention
No one has ever been prosecuted in Ghana under the 1998 law. However, local law enforcement oficers in Ghana as well as CHRAJ (Commission on Human Rights & Administrative Justice) and various government officials cooperated in the liberation and spoke against the practice of trokosi at the liberation ceremony.
Emancipation & aftercare: The victims were emancipated in a public and culturally appropriate ceremony. Afterwards they received counseling both immediate and long term, and help in starting their own businesses.
Every Child Ministries (ECM) Ghana and Fetish Slaves Liberation Movement
One of the main focus points of Every Child Ministries is an anti-slavery/anti-trafficking initiative on behalf of African children. The organization has conducted extensive research into the issue of ritual servitude and follows all the shrines of the area that still hold trokosi slaves. This liberation was one of the fruits of that initiative.
Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don't have a verifiable source on file yet — use “Report a problem” below to add one.